Carnegie's Wisconsin Legacy - An Exhibit

"Andrew Carnegie's Wisconsin Library Legacy - An Exhibit of Memorabilia Featuring Wisconsin's Carnegie Libraries" will be on display at the Middleton Public Library (WI) for the month of September. November 25th will be the 175th anniversary of Carnegie's birth. Sixty Wisconsin communities were the recipients of 63 public library grants from Andrew Carnegie. In addition, two academic institutions also received Carnegie library grants. Fourteen of these Carnegie buildings have been razed, 28 are no longer used as libraries, but 23 are still being used as libraries. Most of those being used as libraries have been expanded and in some cases they are the smaller part of the expanded library. A number of Carnegie buildings have been repurposed as historical museums, and others have become office buildings. Wisconsin has the only Carnegie building serving as a bed and breakfast (Ladysmith). One former Carnegie is now a private residence (Superior, East Branch). For public libraries, Wisconsin communities received a total of $1,045,511. For the two academic libraries it received $104,000. Wisconsin ranked seventh among the states in the number of communities receiving grants for public libraries. A total of 7 grants were received in 1901, the first year that communities in Wisconsin received Carnegie grants. The East Branch of the Superior Public Library was the last Carnegie library constructed in Wisconsin (1917). The exhibit at the Middleton Public Library includes postcards depicting 62 of the 65 Wisconsin Carnegie libraries. The exhibit also includes more than 30 souvenir china pieces along with souvenir spoons and paper weights. The exhibit is sponsored by the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center, a program of the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. The curator for the exhibit is Larry T. Nix. The Wisconsin Library Heritage Center maintains a section on its website devoted to Wisconsin's Carnegie libraries. This post is also being published in Wisconsin Library Heritage Center blog.

Demcourier, Magazine for Librarians

In 2005 DEMCO, the well known library supply company headquartered in Madison, WI, celebrated its centennial. As part of that celebration it published a book entitled Honoring A Century of Service - The Story of Librarians & DEMCO 1905-2005 by Raymond M. Olderman. Far from being a boring corporate history, the book does indeed tell the story of both librarians and DEMCO during this hundred year period. One of the stories in the book is about Norman Bassett who became owner of Demco Library Supplies in 1931 and the free magazine for librarians he created in 1932. The magazine's name Demcourier came from two librarians who won a contest to name the magazine and as a result received $10 each. Initially the focus of the magazine, was on practical information for librarians but it evolved more and more into a literary magazine with each issue devoted to a single literary figure. I recently acquired the Autumn 1939 issue (cover shown above) and it is devoted to Louis Untermeyer. In this issue, Bassett, who edited the magazine, apologetically tells readers that the magazine has become so popular that DEMCO is going to have to limit its distribution to those who purchase at least $10 in library supplies each year from the company and those who pay a subscription fee of 50 cents a year (returned if $10 is spent with the company). Bassett was a model of the best in relationships between library vendors and the library community. He became active in both the Wisconsin Library Association and the American Library Association. In 1932 at the conference of the Wisconsin Library Association he arranged an auction of autographed copies of books to raise funds for scholarships for library school students. As a result a Scholarship Committee (which continues today) was established with Bassett as its chair. During World War II the cost of paper forced the suspension of the magazine in 1943 and its publication was never resumed. This article was published simultaneously in the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center Blog.

Library Ephemera

As I've noted in a previous post I compiled a philatelic exhibit on the history of the Library of Congress and its use of the mail for StampShow 2010 of the American Philatelic Society in Richmond, VA earlier this month. I received a silver medal for the exhibit which was somewhat below my expectations, but also in my awards packet was a certificate from the Ephemera Society of America expressing its "heartfelt gratitude" for my use of ephemera in the exhibit. My exhibit was entered in the Display Division of the exhibits at the stamp show. This category of exhibits allows the use of non-philatelic items as well as traditional philatelic items such as postage stamps and envelopes. The use of non-philatelic ephemera in a philatelic exhibit helps enrich the story told in the exhibit and also makes it more interesting to the viewer. Of course both postage stamps and envelopes are ephemeral in nature themselves. Library ephemera like other ephemera consists of items that are primarily intended for short term use. These items often help paint a picture of society and its institutions, including libraries, that is more realistic than more substantial and long lasting artifacts. One of the pages on the blog BiblioBuffet has a nice explanation of ephemera and what it includes. I've developed pages on my Library History Buff website featuring the following types of library ephemera: bookmarks, library cards, envelopes, postcards, postal cards, trade cards, and stock certificates. Bookplates are more long lasting but are somewhat ephemeral. One of my favorite blogs related to ephemera is Bibliophemera.

Library Scripophily

Membership libraries which required the purchase of stock or payment of a subscription fee preceded free public libraries. Library stock certificates for these libraries are very collectible items. Ronald Rayman in an article entitled "Taking Stock: Financing Libraries in the 19th Century in the November 15, 1982 issue of Library Journal discussed these stock certificates. He indicated that library related stock certificates were uncommon, and that a dealer in stock certificates had indicated that only about one certificate in 10,000 might be a library issue. The collecting of stock certificates is part of a hobby called "scripophily". The Mercantile Library Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1821under the name "Philadelphia Library Association".  It started out as a subscription library but started issuing stock in 1826. The Library was quite prominent for a period but faded in the twentieth century. It eventually became part of the Free Library of Philadelphia and operated as a branch library for the business community.  The branch closed in the late 1970s. Many of its former books can be found in the used book and rare book market.  This stock certificate is dated May 21, 1864 and has a revenue stamp affixed. Revenue stamps were introduced during the Civil War to help pay for the war.  More library stock certificates can be seen HERE.

Library of Congress Mail Exhibit

A good chunk of my time for the last several weeks has been putting together a 10 frame (160 page) philatelic exhibit on the Library of Congress and its mail which I call "America's Library - The Library of Congress". The exhibit will be displayed at the American Philatelic Society's StampShow 2010 in Richmond, Virginia on August 12-15. This is the largest stamp show in the United States. I've been exhibiting various aspects of my postal librariana collection at national level stamp shows since 2003. My most recent exhibits have been a ten frame exhibit entitled "America's Public Libraries and Their Forerunners", a six frame exhibit entitled "America's Presidential Libraries and Museums", a four frame exhibit entitled "America's Libraries - The Stamp", and a three frame exhibit entitled "America's Philatelic Libraries and Museums". I've been planning the Library of Congress exhibit for some time and this year I finally got around to doing it. The exhibit begins with a "Historical Overview", continues with "Library Mail", moves on to "Copyright and the Library of Congress", continues with "Library Services", then comes "Library Collections", followed by the "1982 Stamp", and concludes with "Bicentennial Celebration". There are close to 300 postal and other paper artifacts in the exhibit ranging from an 1814 postal wrapper with a notation "particulars of burning of Washington by British" to souvenir first day covers from the Library's bicentennial. From both a library history and postal history perspective the most meaningful aspect of the exhibit are the large number of examples of outgoing and incoming library mail over the history of the Library especially after 1870. One interesting aspect of incoming Library of Congress mail after 1901 is the required date stamping of all mail. A Mail & Delivery Division sorted and delivered all mail. At one point there were as many as five deliveries a day. Some examples of the date received hand stamps are shown above. If you're in the Richmond area later this week, drop in and take a look.

Special Information at LC in WW2

The Division for Special Information was established in the Library of Congress in the summer of 1941 for the purpose of analyzing information and data bearing on national security. This meant obtaining and analyzing documents and publications originating in hostile nations. Neutral nations such as Ireland assisted the Library of Congress in obtaining some of these publications. The Library of Congress worked closely with the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, in this endeavor. The Division of Special Information grew to include 208 employees. In 1943 the unit moved from the Library of Congress to the Office of Strategic Services. Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish was an active player in the U.S. World War II effort as it related to information and served as Chairman of the Committee on Defense Information. In one of those odd ironies as it relates to freedom and defense, the United States Post Office ruthlessly destroyed tons of books, periodicals, and other documents coming into this country from adversarial nations during World War II. This resulted in libraries in the United States including the Library of Congress losing access to a significant aspect of the information record for that period. This interesting story is discussed at length in the book The Nervous Liberals: Propaganda Anxieties from World War I to the Cold War by Brett Gary (Columbia University Press, 1999). The Library of Congress also has an interesting online exhibit Freedom's Fortress about the Library of Congress during World War II. The envelope above was mailed from Ireland in June of 1942 and includes censor marks from both Ireland (on the reverse) and the U.S.

New York's Library Week

In 1890 the New York Library Association (NYLA) was established as the first statewide library association in the United States making this year its 120th anniversary. Melvil Dewey played a significant role in the establishment of the NYLA. He also was involved in the creation of New York's Library Week in 1899. Library Week in New York was not created to promote libraries, it was an expanded library conference that included recreation as well as library continuing education. Library Week was initially hosted annually at Dewey's Lake Placid Club in the Adirondacks where attendees could take advantage of the offerings of the resort. It was during Library Week in 1903 that NYLA member Henry M. Leipziger by chance came across a publication of the Lake Placid Club that stated "No one shall be received as member or guest, against whom there is physical, moral, social or race objection." The publication further stated "It is found impracticable to make exceptions to Jews or others excluded, even when of unusual personal qualifications." Leipsizer, a Jew, was outraged and initiated events that ultimately led to Dewey's resignation from his various responsibilities at the New York State Board of Regents including serving as State Librarian. Library Week was hosted at the Lake Placid Club again in 1920 but a controversy relating to Dewey's relationship with women caused a rejection of an offer to hold Library Week in Lake Placid in 1924.

The poster stamp or "cinderella" above was created to promote New York Library Week in 1917 which took place at the Lakewood Farm Inn at Roscoe, New York. NYLA President Edward F. Stevens wrote about the meeting: "Notwithstanding the critical times and the engrossing concerns of country and of an abnormal daily life, the spirit manifest in the membership of the association promises a conference comparable in interest, enthusiasm and attendance to the best Library Week the association has known." Controversy involving the NYLA and Lake Placid arose again over a decision to hold the NYLA Conference in 1969 at Lake Placid.

Wayne A. Wiegand's book about Melvil Dewey Irrepressible Reformer (American Library Association, 1996) provides extensive coverage about Dewey and the Lake Placid Club. Previous blog posts about Dewey and Lake Placid are located HERE and HERE.

Travels of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

On December 26, 1941, America's most important documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were transported under armed escort from the Library of Congress in special containers to Union Station in Washington, D. C.. They were then loaded onto a west bound Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Pullman sleeper and were escorted on their journey by Secret Service agents and Chief Assistant Librarian of Congress Verner W. Clapp. At 10:30 a.m. on the morning of December 27, the documents and their escorts were met at the train station by more agents and Army troops and were taken in an Army truck to the Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution remained at Fort Knox until the Fall of 1944 when they were returned to the Library of Congress. All of this took place, of course, in the context of World War II. The two documents had taken an earlier trip on September 30, 1921 from the Department of State to the Library of Congress. That trip took place in the Library's Model-T Ford truck which was driven by Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam. On February 28, 1924 after a dedication that included President and Mrs. Coolidge, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution went on display in a specially designed case referred to as a "sort of shrine". The shrine is shown in the postcard above. In a final journey on December 13, 1952, the two documents were transferred to the National Archives, where they reside today, accompanied by tanks, motorcycles, military bands, color guard, and servicemen brandishing submachine guns. This interesting story was found in the Encyclopedia of the Library of Congress (Library of Congress, 2004) edited by John Y. Cole and Jane Aikin.

Bookplates for Libraries

Although I specialize in the collection of postal librariana, my overall collection of librariana includes a wide variety of items. One of those items is library bookplates. I don't specifically seek out library bookplates but I have a nice collection which I have acquired through chance and the generosity of other collectors. I have made several posts to this blog related to bookplates which can be found by searching the blog under, what else, "bookplates". I recently acquired a book entitled Bookplates for Libraries by Edward Hampton Shickell (Roger Beacham Publisher, 1968). This book contains an introduction by William R. Holman and is not about the collecting of library bookplates but about the design of bookplates by and for school, public, and academic libraries. The book contains a large number of examples of well designed bookplates, and the book itself is an excellent example of good book design. I have written a previous post about William R. Holman who publishes under the Roger Beacham imprint. It is a real treat to have this book in my collection with its connection to Bill.

I would be remiss in writing about bookplates and not mentioning the excellent blog Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie published by Lewis Jaffe.

Happy 140th Birthday LC Copyright

On July 8, 1870 President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the bill centralizing all the functions of copyright in the Library of Congress. Since 1870 the Copyright Office has registered over 33 million claims for copyright. As I reported in my previous post centralizing copyright at the Library of Congress was largely due to the efforts of Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford. The requirement that two copyrighted items be deposited with the Library of Congress has been a major factor in the Library becoming the largest library in the world. The U. S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress has done an excellent job of documenting its history on its website. A brief introduction to the Copyright Office and its history is located HERE. Numerous links to key documents relating to the history of copyright in the United States and at the Library of Congress are located HERE. An interesting bit of trivia at one link notes that the Copyright Card Catalog (no longer active) is the largest card catalog in the world with 45 million cards in 25,675 drawers. "Placed top to bottom, the individual cards would stretch from San Francisco to Detroit and beyond." My show and tell for this post is a postal card mailed by Thorvald Solberg (1852-1940) to a colleague in Germany on October 27, 1887. Solberg began work at the Library of Congress in 1876 in the Law Library, but he also assisted Spofford with copyright. He became an international expert on copyright, and on July 22, 1897 he was appointed the first Register of Copyrights. In the postal card Solberg indicates that he is sending a copy of his "History of International Copyright in Congress" to his colleague in the mail.